By Kristin Friedersdorf, 365 Days of Service, LA Chapter
A few days before Thanksgiving, families hustled to arrange last minute turkey
preparations, the TV news buzzed with turducken and pumpple segments,
struggling Americans lined up to receive charity groceries, and high school
seniors toiled away on the finishing touches of their college applications.
With the deadline for UC schools looming, nonprofit 826 LA has led a series
of tutoring days specifically to help high school seniors write their personal
statements. 826 LA is part of a larger nonprofit called 826 National, a network of
centers across different U.S. cities that help students ages 6-18 with expository
and creative writing. 826 LA has two locations in Los Angeles (one in Venice
and one in Echo Park), both serving students from our local public schools. A big
part of the 826 philosophy is that the one-on-one attention these students receive
can help facilitate “great leaps in learning.”
According to the organization’s blog, over 80 students attended a recent “Great
Los Angeles Personal Statement Day” event, where college hopefuls were
paired one-on-one with tutors in the intimidating quest to show admissions
committees “who they are” through two essay prompts. While I missed the big
event, I was able to sign up to volunteer during another evening they set aside
for personal statement help.
Like many readers, I remember finding out about 826 LA through the Dave
Eggers connection several years ago. The famous writer is a founder of the
original tutoring center in San Francisco and remains an advocate for public
schools. A powerful quote from Eggers calls individuals to engage with their
local communities by giving support to students in need: “Some kids don’t
know how good they are, how smart and how much they have to say. You
can tell them. You can shine that light on them one human interaction at a
time.” Ultimately, I was drawn to volunteer at 826 because of this philosophy.
These programs create an environment where kids are free to be wildly
imaginative and discover their inner creativity. Beyond a place to learn, 826
is a place that empowers kids and lets them speak their voices. Among other
dynamic programs, 826 centers engage entire classrooms in book publishing
collaborations where students can see their own work in print.
826 services are offered to local students for free, programs which include
everything from drop-in after school tutoring to special workshops, such as the
comic book making workshop I once volunteered at. To add to the inviting nature
of the centers, each location is accompanied by a cleverly themed retail store
that sells products to benefit the program. In Echo Park, you can shop at a time-
travel themed mart that includes items like faux facial hair “through the ages”
and bottled scents that include varieties such as “cavemen” and “gold rush.” In
San Francisco, you can shop at a pirate store, while in Brooklyn you can take
care of all of your superhero supply needs in one convenient stop. And all of this
demonstrates that when it comes to creativity, 826 practices what they preach, a
phenomenon that Good magazine describes as their “total commitment to design
and branding.”
After experiences participating in a few of 826 LA’s weekend workshops, I was
itching to get back and volunteer. The personal statement tutoring sessions
seemed like the perfect opportunity and I had a weekday off from work that
luckily coincided with the 826 schedule. So on a recent Monday, I found myself
across the table from a bright, ambitious member of the Venice High senior
class. Still undecided, she’s thinking of studying medicine, or maybe business.
Her work ethic, however, is solidly in place. We worked together for almost 4
hours on her two personal statements, reading and re-reading each sentence
together. After an entire school day, this student showed true dedication by
working non-stop on this endeavor for over three hours on her zillionth draft.
One challenge in this situation was trying to help her effectively transform
thoughts and ideas about how to convey her personal story into actual words on
the page. I was very conscious of helping her voice shine without inserting my
own. But beyond writing mechanics, these sessions also offer the opportunity
for an extra dose of encouragement during the notoriously daunting admissions
process. As someone who has lost frustrating amounts of sleep in the past due
to underperforming on standardized tests, it felt like fate that I was paired with a
student with her own SAT woes. I tried to reassure her when the dreaded SAT
score topic came up by letting her know that I could relate. “I didn’t do that well
on the SAT’s either, and I went to college and did great. You’re going to be just
fine.” I could tell what a hard worker she is, so I know this is honest advice.
What’s amazing about working one on one with a student is that right before
your eyes, there is a human being just bursting with potential. And at 826, you
can look around the room at the other students and tutors, and before you is
an entire room bursting with potential. The energy in these tutoring centers is
full of hope, fueled by the simple act of people believing in one another. With
the deadline in a matter of days, I overheard that the tutoring center’s schedule
for Tuesday was filling up with other students who craved some finishing touch
revisions and general reassurance.
“Are you going to be back tomorrow?” my student asked towards the end of
our session. I wanted to say yes, but I had to go back to work the next day.
So around 6 pm we parted ways and shook hands. She thanked me, and I
wished her good luck. The magic of 826 is that you have the powerful role of
encouraging kids and young adults that their dreams are totally in the realm of
the possible. Since a college education opens so many doors, this volunteer
experience had particular weight as we edited potentially future-altering
documents. At that moment in time, I knew that it felt to her like her entire future
was resting on the contents of her flash drive. This student was influenced by
many individuals, teachers, and tutors in composing the various drafts of her
statements—and for a few hours I was a small part of this team.
Naturally, I now feel the suspense of the college admissions waiting game
just by extension of this young woman. I’ve wondered many times since that
day how everything will turn out for her. I even started thinking about the
college admissions process while watching a pre-Thanskgiving segment on the
morning news. Marcus Samuelson, acclaimed chef, was doing one of those
holiday pieces about how “easy” it is to prepare a turkey. While under normal
circumstances, he would have no trouble with a bird and its trimmings, this time
it was a battle of his hands versus the crisp New York fall weather. Ingredients
were blowing everywhere, butter was freezing to his shaking fingers as he tried
to rub the turkey, and his attempts to tie the bird together in place took more
than the usual amount of skillful persistence. Preparing this particular turkey
outdoors in a national news segment was a bit of a brutal process, but he got
through it despite the unpleasant obstacles. And while it won’t be easy, so too
will the students get through their college applications, and hopefully, find their
places at the next stage of their academic journey.
While I will probably never know the outcome of my student’s college journey, I
have high hopes for this Venice High senior. And as I learned from her personal
statements—details of which you’ll only be lucky enough to read if you’re on her
college admissions committee-- this is a girl who won’t give up.
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Author’s Note: If you’re interested, think about volunteering at an 826 location.
They currently have centers in LA, San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, Chicago,
DC, New York, and Michigan. It’s an easy and painless process to become a
volunteer! In fact, the 826 National video states that “We make it ridiculously
easy to volunteer. Once a tutor is trained, any hours they can give make a
difference. Maybe it’s only two hours a month, but those two hours working
shoulder to shoulder with a given student will make a world of difference.”
How did 826 get it's name? Checked out their website ...
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